Podcast
Secrets From the Crime Lab
Hosted by practicalforensics.science · ENGLISH
A podcast for practitioners, professionals, and enthusiasts of forensic science, applied science, and science related topics: exploring the truth of true crime. Learn about the real forensic science behind the cases, how it actually works behind the closed doors of the crime lab, and what happens when it fails or is misunderstood. Hosted by a scientist with over twenty years of laboratory experience, this podcast discusses the challenges and nuances of the forensic fields from her own experiences and with forensic and subject matter experts.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
A Glimpse into Advanced Investigations: Exploring the Role of Private Investigators with William Losefsky
Feb 19, 202501:16:24Tap to summarizeIn this episode of 'Secrets from the Crime Lab,' host Angela Swarts returns after a brief hiatus to delve into an enlightening conversation with William Losefsky of Investigative Concepts. With a background in law enforcement and extensive experience in private investigation, Losefsky shares his expertise in forensic death investigation, drug diversion in hospitals, and statement analysis. He emphasizes the importance of unbiased investigation and provides insights into how defense investigations can uncover critical truths overlooked in initial prosecutions. Angela and William discuss their shared experiences and the critical role of continuous learning in the field of forensic science.To learn more about our guest please visit his website at https://investigate-it.com/Bill will be speaking about "Complex Investigations and Special Investigative Techniques" at the Florida Association of Private Investigators annual conference March 3-5, 2025, visit https://myfapi.org/speakers-2025/ to learn more.Bill is the principal owner of Investigative Concepts, LLC a private investigation agency operating in New Hampshire since 2002. He is a Board-Certified Criminal Defense Investigator CCDI, Board Certified Forensic Death Investigator, Certified Master Investigator, CMI and a Certified Anti-Terrorism Specialist, CAS. Bill has presented on investigative techniques, drug diversion investigation, active shooter, leadership/mentoring, use of force and project management.Bill is the recipient of the Prestigious Lindberg Bell award through the (IAHSS) International Association for healthcare safety and security. William is the current President of the New Hampshire League of Investigators.00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview00:53 Host's Background and Apology for Hiatus01:24 Podcast Accessibility and Listener Support02:07 Host's Professional Background04:22 Guest Introduction: William Losefsky05:13 William's Law Enforcement Journey06:12 The Importance of Lifelong Learning in Investigations07:06 Advanced Crime Scene Analysis Techniques11:30 Challenges in Law Enforcement and Investigations15:18 The Role of Evidence in Crime Scene Investigation19:42 The Complexities of Death Investigations31:03 Becoming a Certified Death Investigator35:00 The Value of Specialized Skills in Investigations41:29 Identifying Deceptive Behavior42:41 Poker Tells and Real-World Applications43:21 Investigations in Hospitals46:44 Understanding Drug Diversion53:26 Handling Hospital-Related Deaths01:02:06 The Role of Private Investigators01:12:23 Advice for Aspiring Investigators01:13:37 Upcoming Conference and Contact InformationSupport the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →PART II - Case Solved? Unraveling a DNA thread in the Zodiac killer enigma. Featuring Forensic Scientist George Schiro
Oct 5, 202300:35:22Tap to summarizePart II of George Schiro’s story about his involvement in unraveling the identity of the notorious Zodiac Killer. What did he find in his examination of the alleged DNA profile of the Zodiac and Gary Stewart? Is Gary Stewart the biological son of the infamous Zodiac?This is part II! Be sure to listen to Part I first to get the whole story!To learn more about or to contact the guest, George Schiro, M.S., visit his website.Links to materials mentioned in this episode:ABC Primetime 2002 (where Gary Stewart obtained the Zodiac's DNA information) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia_vGxvXOiUThe Most Dangerous Animal of All, Documentary https://www.hulu.com/series/the-most-dangerous-animal-of-all-9a6e8380-72c4-45c4-b3c9-5bff434d4eb5Become a subscriber (no longterm commitment), help us keep the show going:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1936265/supportSupport the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →Case Solved? Unraveling a DNA thread in the Zodiac killer enigma. Featuring Forensic Scientist George Schiro.
Jun 27, 202300:38:27Tap to summarizeThe Zodiac case remains one of the most notorious unsolved murder mysteries in American history, and it continues to capture public interest and speculation. The self-proclaimed Zodiac killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California, primarily in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 2014 a man named Gary L. Stewart published a book, co-written by journalist Susan Mustafa, The Most Dangerous Animal of All, about how he came to the conclusion that his biological father was the Zodiac killer.In this episode, Forensic Scientist George Schiro speaks about his involvement - examining the alleged DNA profile of the Zodiac and Gary Stewart. Is Gary Stewart the biological son of the infamous Zodiac?Mr. Schiro will be presenting on this topic at the Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administrators annual meeting, July 27-28, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. To learn more visit afdaa.orgTo learn more about or to contact the guest, George Schiro, M.S., visit his website.Support the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →S2E3: Space Forensics! Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in Microgravity with Detective Zack Kowalske
Mar 9, 202300:50:42Tap to summarizeOn this episode I spoke with Det. Zack Kowalske, an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and a pioneer in Space Forensics! We discussed BPA (bloodstain pattern analysis), some concerns in the field (error rates), and Zack's research on bloodstain pattern analysis in microgravity.Support the Show!Become a subscriber: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1936265/supporters/newMake a one-time contribution (uses Paypal): Buy Me a CoffeeGet Zack's new book: "Gaming the Reaper: How to Win at Life and Optimize the Sh#t Out of Your own Potential" https://www.zackkowalske.com/Learn more about topics we discussed in this episodeThe "black box study"Accuracy and reproducibility of conclusions by forensic bloodstain pattern analysts,Forensic Science International. R. Austin Hicklin, Kevin R. Winer, Paul E. Kish, Connie L. Parks, William Chapman, Kensley Dunagan, Nicole Richetelli, Eric G. Epstein, Madeline A. Ausdemore, Thomas A. Busey. Forensic Science International, Volume 325, 2021,110856,ISSN 0379-0738,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110856.ASB TECHNICAL REPORT 033Kish, Suttonhttps://www.amazon.com/Principles-Bloodstain-Pattern-Analysis-Investigations/dp/0849320143Bevel, Gardenerhttps://www.amazon.com/Bloodstain-Introduction-Reconstruction-Practical-Investigations/dp/1420052683Visit practicalforensics.science/podcast for more information and links. Support the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →S2EP2: Joining the Dark Side.The Role of the Forensic Science Defence Expert. Dr. David Schudel
Jan 5, 202301:06:17Tap to summarize"The role of a forensic science defence expert is often referred to by those working for the police/state/government forensic labs as being on the "dark side."In Joining the Dark Side, author David Schudel outlines the evolution of a fascinating career that starts out in the dark side and looks at what problems can appear in forensic cases. The book delves into the problems inherent to forensic science, in particular cognitive bias and scientific philosophy. It also looks at the emotional impact and specific challenges behind forensic science and provides the reader with some sage advice on giving evidence in Court."Get the book here: World ScientificENJOY 25% OFF WITH PROMO CODE: NEWYEAR25Enjoy Dr. Schudel's crime fiction:Saving LizzieCompound MurderIncendiary ManListen to more stories from Dave in Secrets from the Crime Lab Season 1, Episode 3.Join our mailing list: https://practicalforensics.science/Support the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →S2Ep1 - Cognitive bias in forensic pathology decisions with Dr. Itiel Dror
Nov 8, 202201:30:00Tap to summarizeIn this episode I spoke with Dr. Itiel Dror, a cognitive neuroscientist known in the forensic realm for his contributions to revealing the unconscious implicit biases in forensic decisions and providing tools to minimize them. He recently published several papers examining - for the first time - cognitive bias in forensic pathology. The Maryland Attorney General has announced an independent audit of in-custody death determinations made by the OCME during the tenure of Dr. David Fowler. Dr. Fowler provided expert testimony for the defense in the trial of Derek Chauvin for death George Floyd. The audit team of forensic pathology experts and behavioral scientists will look to ascertain whether or not the determinations of manner of death were free from implicit biases. "...it's important to distinguish between what I'm talking about with cognitive bias versus the way people usually talk about bias. So the usual term bias refers to intentional discrimination like racism and sexism and antisemitism, where it's intentional bias and discriminatory. I'm talking about the way the brain actually works, which affects all of us...It developed because of the architecture of the brain, but sometimes it can lead us to make mistakes, and this is where we want to minimize the way it goes off track, and the cognitive bias gives us a mistake, and it's unconscious implicit bias, so people are not aware of it." - Itel DrorLinks for this episode: Biases in forensic experts. SCIENCE . 20 Apr 2018 Vol 360, Issue 6386 p. 243 https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aat8443 The fallacies and sources of bias: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c00704 Papers of Bias in Forensic Pathology1) First paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1556-4029.146972) Second paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X22000705Linear Sequential Unmasking: an approach to minimize bias: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X21000310?via%3Dihub More information and articles about the Guest: http://www.cci-hq.com/forensic-identification.html Support the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →Ep. 9 (Season 1 Bonus) Massively Parallel Sequencing - Tools for forensic laboratories learning to handle terabytes of genetic data, how it improves investigations, and a free workshop.
Jul 27, 202200:50:33Tap to summarizeMassively Parallel Sequencing has revolutionized laboratories' ability to harness more and more information from our genetics. This has led to massive improvements in medical diagnostics, public health (think SARs-CoV-2 variant identification), ancestry determinations, and now forensic science has begun adapting this technology to criminal investigations.In this episode I speak with Professor Megan Foley, Teresa Snyder-Leiby, and Sarah Copeland about the challenges laboratories are facing as they adopt this type of DNA testing and tools that are available not only to labs, but also to law enforcement, prosecutors, and defense - including the Innocence Project.This episode is in partnership with the Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administrators (AFDAA). Visit afdaa.org to learn more about this professional organization.Are you part of a not for profit organization and would like to have a featured episode promoting your organization or upcoming events, please email hello@secretsfromthecrimelab.To learn more about the guests, see their bios at https://practicalforensics.science/podcast. Simply scroll down to the post for episode 9.Megan Foley is a visiting assistant professor in Forensic Molecular Biology at the George Washington University... Her current research focuses on evaluating new products in order to develop recommendations and strategies for laboratories for implementation. Especially focusing on next generation sequencing platforms and analysis software in order to develop analytical parameter recommendations for analysis and probabilistic genotyping. Sarah Copeland is Senior Biologist SoftGenetics (3+ years) involved in software development, testing and support for forensic fragment CE data analysis and MPS data analysis...Teresa Snyder- Leiby (one of those older guys with about ½ her career in molecular bio, the last half in forensic DNA analyses). She obtained her degree (BS, MS, PhD) are from Juniata College, North Dakota State Univ. and Penn State. I was a technician at Penn State way back when RFLP was the new DNA fingerprinting method (mid-1980s)….. She joined SoftGenetics in 2008...Resourceshttps://softgenetics.com/Review article about MPS and mitochrondrial MPS https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wfs2.1431Norah Rudin and Keith Inman book mentioned in the episode https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Forensic-DNA-Analysis/dp/0849302331Also visit ISOGG for more information about mitochondrial DNA, haplogroups, etc https://isogg.org/wiki/Wiki_Welcome_PageSupport the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →Ep. 8 Identical Twins, drugs, smoking, and crime. Applied Epigenetics with Dr. Athina Vidaki, Erasmus MC, Netherlands
Apr 21, 202200:51:04Tap to summarizeEpigenetics: The clothes of your DNA. While the DNA sequence contains the instructions, your epigenome controls which part of the instructions are read and used. But how do we use this in forensic science? Learn more about biomarkers linked to smoking, age predication, differentiating between identical twins, narrowing the suspect pool, generating investigative leads, and more.Athina Vidaki, PhD, with Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam Netherlands, is a professor of Applied Epigenomics. Her lab is focused on researching biomarkers and developing technologies to apply epigenetics in forensics. Learn more about Dr. Vidaki and the research at ErasmusSee a list of Dr. Vidaki's publicationsLearn more about Epigenetic discrimination of identical twins from blood under the forensic scenarioSpeaking engagements 2022GRC conference12th ISABS CONFERENCE on Forensic and Anthropological Genetics and Mayo Clinic Lectures in Individualized MedicineThe 29th Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (abstract submitted) Join our discussion and let us know your thoughts. E: hello@secretsfromthecrimelab.comORJoin our Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/SecretsfromtheCrimeLabInstagram: secretscrimelabComments? Feedback? Suggestions? Or if you would like to be a guest? E: hello@secretsfromthecrimelab.comSupport the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →Episode 7: Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Genetics with Dr. Matthias Wienroth and Dr. Carole McCartney, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne
Apr 10, 202201:03:12Tap to summarizeNew Technology is great...but let's use it to catch the right person. In this episode I spoke with Professors Dr. Matthias Wienroth and Dr. Carol McCartney, two of the authors of "Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Genetics". It's a fascinating discussion about forensic genetics and the rapidly evolving technologies from the perspective of a social scientist and law professor.Read the full text article: Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Genetics Works/News mentioned in the episode:Nuffield Report. The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issuesMarper Case - European court rules DNA database breaches human rightsThe effectiveness of the UK national DNA databaseThe murder of Rachel NickellPhantom of HeilbronDr Carole McCartney is a Professor in the School of Law, Northumbria University. Previously senior lecturer in criminal law and criminal justice at the University of Leeds, and Bond University, Queensland, Australia. Carole has written on Australian justice, Innocence Projects, miscarriages of justice, policing cooperation, and DNA, forensic science and criminal justice more widely. She established an Innocence Project at the University of Leeds in 2005...Learn More about Dr. McCartneyDr. Matthias Wienroth has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, he is a founding member of the of the interdisciplinary scientific initiative on new and emerging forensic genetics technologies WIE-DNA (Germany) ...He is a member of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) and the European Association for Studies of Science and Technology (EASST). Since 2015, he has been building an interdisciplinary and international network for the Social Studies of Forensic Science..." Learn More about Dr. WeinrothAdditional works by Dr. Wienroth:EUROFORGEN and Sense About Science booklet on forensic geneticshttps://senseaboutscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/making-sense-of-forensic-genetics.pdfOthers articles:Value beyond scientific validity: let’s RULE (Reliability, Utility, LEgitimacy)Governing anticipatory technology practices. Forensic DNA phenotyping and the forensic genetics community in EuropeMisuse of Romani genetic data:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03416-3https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/science/genetics-ethics-roma.htmlTo learn more about the host visit https://practicalforSupport the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
Transcribe →Ep. 6 Science SNiP: Forensic DNA Phenotyping, Predicting Human Appearance
Mar 28, 202200:27:51Tap to summarizeDNA as the "Biological Witness". Forensic DNA Phenotyping predicts the externally visible characteristics - i.e. what a person may look like - from their biological material. It has applications in criminal investigations when other leads have failed, missing persons identification, and anthropological research. To learn more about the host visit https://practicalforensics.science/Join our discussion and let us know your thoughts. E: hello@secretsfromthecrimelab.comORJoin our Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/SecretsfromtheCrimeLabComments? Feedback? Suggestions? Or if you would like to be a guest?Get in touch on the Contact PagePlease consider Supporting the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SecretsCrimeLabLinks to material discussed in this episode and other links of interest:King Richard III IdentificationDouble-murder case exampleMissing Person IdentificationACLU Opinion on FDPWalsh LaboratoryHIrisplex at Erasmus UniversityKayser M. Forensic DNA Phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2015 Sep;18:33-48. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2015.02.003. Epub 2015 Feb 16. PMID: 25716572.Chaitanya L, Breslin K, Zuñiga S, Wirken L, Pośpiech E, Kukla-Bartoszek M, Sijen T, Knijff P, Liu F, Branicki W, Kayser M, Walsh S. The HIrisPlex-S system for eye, hair and skin colour prediction from DNA: Introduction and forensic developmental validation. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2018 Jul;35:123-135. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2018.04.004. Epub 2018 Apr 12. PMID: 29753263.Liu F, van Duijn K, Vingerling JR, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Janssens AC, Kayser M. Eye color and the prediction of complex phenotypes from genotypes. Curr Biol. 2009 Mar 10;19(5):R192-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.01.027. PMID: 19278628.Support the showWant to be on an episode? Have ideas for an episode you would like to hear? Want to sponsor the podcast? General enquiry?email hello@secretsfromthelab.com
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